Devotion
by sue-sylvester-shuffle
Summary: "She looked up curiously, scanning the crowd for Kenneth's distinctive page jacket and neatly combed blonde hair. She saw no such thing. Dread began to claw at her stomach, tightening in her chest and rising toward her throat. Oh, God. He's still in there." • 30 Rockefeller Centre is on fire, and Liz attempts to rescue Kenneth before it's too late.


"Lutz, John?"  
"Here."

"Lemon, Elizabeth?"

"Here." Liz responded distractedly. She couldn't stop staring at 30 Rockefeller Centre, smoke erupting from all windows, flaming tongues of fire erasing everything she'd worked towards for years. She wiped the tears from her blurry, brown eyes, vowing not to cry in front of the writers.

Liz was hardly listening when the call for 'Parcell, Kenneth' wasn't answered. She looked up curiously, scanning the crowd for Kenneth's distinctive page jacket and neatly combed blonde hair. She saw no such thing. Dread began to claw at her stomach, tightening in her chest and rising toward her throat. Oh, God. He's still in there.

Before she knew it, she was running. Across the courtyard, past the ambulances and fire trucks, darting around Jack as he tried to grab her. Ignoring her instincts screaming at her to stop, Liz Lemon re-entered the burning building.

The smoke was thick inside. Liz cautiously pulled her shirt up to cover her nose and mouth. She hurried over to the stairs, knowing that Kenneth was probably still on the sixth floor. Don't worry, she thought, wishing that he could hear her somehow. I'll be there soon.

By the time Liz reached the sixth floor, she was panting. Luckily, her sweat-soaked shirt was preventing her from inhaling any smoke, so she was safe. "Kenneth!" Liz called desperately. "Kenneth, are you here?"

No answer. Liz wandered around, calling the blonde page's name over and over. Still, there was only silence. Just as she was beginning to think that he was on a different floor, someone appeared amidst the smoke and flames. Stumbling toward her, holding a large box, was Kenneth. "Ms Lemon?" he asked dubiously. His voice was hoarse, rough from breathing in the smoke.

"Kenneth. Oh my God." Liz rushed over to him, grabbing his arms tightly to prevent the two of them from being separated again. "Why aren't you outside?"

"I… I couldn't leave without everyone's personnel files." He glanced down at the box in his arms.

"Yes, you could have!" Liz couldn't believe what she was hearing. "These damn files are saved on the computer." She took the box from his arms and flung it away. Kenneth gasped, blue eyes wide. "For Pete's sake, Kenneth. You could've died. Come on, let's get out of here."

"But, Ms Lemon…!" Kenneth protested. All of a sudden, he fell into a harsh fit of coughing. The smoke, thought Liz. He's not covering his nose and mouth.

A sudden surge of frustration took over Liz. "You stupid page!" she found herself screaming at him, angry tears splashing down her face. "If anything happened to you, I… dammit, I don't know what I'd do!"

"I-I'm sorry…" Kenneth choked out.

Liz grabbed him by the wrist. "Come on. We're getting out of here."

He continued to cough violently as she dragged him down the stairs. Liz wished she could try to help him somehow, but she didn't, for two reasons. Firstly, she was intent on getting them out of the burning building as soon as she possibly could. And secondly, she was still so blindly mad at him for going back for personnel files that she felt like smacking him in the face.

Once they got down to the lobby, Liz glanced at the door. You're close, she told herself. Just a bit more and you'll be out of-

Liz was shaken out of her thoughts by a loud boom and Kenneth's scream from beside her. She looked up, brown eyes wide. Part of the ceiling had fallen, blocking the exit with a plethora of flames.

Liz swore under her breath, her voice shaking like a dead leaf in the wind. She looked around for any other way out- but she couldn't see any.

"Ms Lemon?" Kenneth's voice was as tremulous as hers. "What do we do now?"

"I…" Liz trailed off, unsure of what to say.

Just then, she heard a voice yelling her name. "Lemon! Lemon, where are you?" The voice wasn't Kenneth's. In fact, it almost sounded like…

"Jack!?" Liz called out. "Is that you?"

"Lemon! Are you okay? Is Kenneth there?"

"We're here!" Liz replied, as some of the tension loosened in her chest. Jack was there. Everything was going to be okay. "And we're both fine."

"Don't worry." Jack said. "We're gonna get you out of there. Just… stand back."

"Alright." Liz and Kenneth took a few steps back. There was a whoosh, and a cloud of white engulfed the fire. When the strange white smoke cleared, the fire was gone. Liz could see Jack now. He was standing at the door beside a few firefighters. One of them was holding a fire extinguisher.

Seeing Jack's face made a lump appear in Liz's throat. "Jack." she whispered, feeling fresh tears appear in her eyes. She let go of Kenneth's hand and ran toward him. He rushed toward her, too, and they met in the middle. Liz sunk into Jack's arms, sobbing.

"It's okay." she heard him murmur, as he stroked her hair clumsily. "You're going to be fine, Lemon."

She looked up. Her teary eyes were making his face blurry, but she could see that he was frowning, his brow creased with genuine worry. "Jack, I… I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For going back in."

He gave her a small smile. "I think it's a good thing you did, though." He nodded toward Kenneth, who was being escorted outside by the firefighters. One of them was fixing an oxygen mask to the page's face. "I don't think he could've survived without you, Lemon. Why didn't he leave, anyway?"

"Personnel files."

"Personnel files?" Jack repeated incredulously.

"Yep. He didn't know they were saved on the computer. He thought these were the only copies."

Jack sighed. "Still. He was willing to die for personnel files?"

Liz nodded. "That kid's got devotion, if I ever saw it. Maybe he's a little too devoted."

"Maybe you are, too." Jack suggested.

"What am I devoted to?" Liz asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Him."

"Him? What- you mean Kenneth?"

Jack nodded. "You ran back in for him, which was insane, might I add, Lemon."

Liz chuckled. "Oh, Jack, you knew I'd be fine."

"You're right. I did know." admitted Jack. "But that doesn't mean I didn't worry about you."

Liz remembered Jack trying to grab her when she first ran in. Guilt pressed down on her shoulders, and she frowned. "I'm sorry." she said again, her voice little more than a soft, rueful whisper.

"It's alright, Lemon. Just… don't scare me like that again, okay?"

"Alright. I won't."

"Good." Jack sighed again. "Now let's get out of here, okay?"

Liz nodded. As they walked slowly out of the building, she rested her head on his shoulder. A few moments later, she felt his arm come around her shoulders and pull her close to his side. A small smile spread across her face, and she let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

Jack's own words played back in her head, from when she'd first raced across the lobby and thrown herself at him. It's okay. You're going to be fine, Lemon.

Liz believed him.

the end


End file.
